Financial impact of Global Carnival still not known

Organisers of the Bellingen Global Carnival are devastated the event had to be cancelled because of heavy rainfall.

Bryony Taylor is the festival director, and says the last day of programs and activities had to be cancelled because of health and safety issues.

"The camp was starting to go underwater," she said.

"There was a small stream that had started to flow. It was very important to evacuate that site very calmly and steadily and we needed to do that before the river rose and people were potentially trapped."

She says Bellingen will feel the financial impact of having to cancel the event, but says the community has been supportive.

"They understand the amount of work that goes into it, they understand the critical nature of your box, because without the box being able to cover the costs of course you can not operate and it is an important event for the town financially, but also it is something that a lot of people look forward to every year."